PLEA FOE THE BIRDS. 163 



save by the moaning of the winds, would be oppressive ; 

 the fields would lose half their cheerfulness, and the for- 

 est would seem the very abode of melancholy. Then let 

 our arms, designed only for self-defence, no longer spread 

 destruction over the plains ; let the sound of musketry no 

 longer blend its discord with the voices of the birds, that 

 they may gather about our habitations with confidence, 

 and find in man, for whose pleasure they sing and for 

 whose benefit they toil, a friend and a protector. 



